[James 5]

Showing up:  by letting go of worldly ______________ for Jesus’ _______and _______

[James 5:1-6; Matthew 6:19-24]

• Guilty pleasures and wrong priorities: 

o   Guilty of _______ riches (5:2-3)

o   Guilty of cheating others (5:4)

o   Guilty of a _______ _______ (5:5)

o   Guilty of taking advantage of the righteous (5:6)

Showing up:  by letting go of _______, and self-protection, for Jesus’ _______and _______

[James 5:7-12; Matthew 5:38-48]

Showing up:  by letting go of _______ and _______ to receive Jesus’ _______ and _______

[James 5:13-20; Luke 4:16-21]

• Jesus’ freedom and power is available as we: 

o   _______ our sins

o   _______ with faith

o   ______________back

Next Step Questions:

• What do you need to let go of today to receive all that Jesus has for you?

Will you let go and let Jesus have His way today?

[James 4]

The “friend zone”: God commands us to ________ the world and ________ Him

[James 4:1-5; 2 Corinthians 6:16-18]

• What messes up our friend zone?

o Our ________

o Our ________________

The “friend zone”: God’s grace grows when we come to Him _______

[James 4:6-10]

• What fixes our friend zone?

o Our ________, resistance, and drawing near

o ________ rather than ________ 

The “friend zone”:  a friend zone ________________________seeks God’s will in all things

[James 4:11-17]

Next Step Questions:

• Is Jesus your Lord and Savior?

• Is there anything in your friend zone that shouldn’t be?

• Will you draw near to Jesus and bring whatever is in the way to the altar?

Mother’s Day: “A life of favor”

[Ruth]

A life of favor with God and with others changes lives and _______ _______

[Luke 2:52]

• _______ leads to favor with God and with others

Finding favor in all of life:

• Naomi: favor with God and with others brought _______through life’s _______

[Ruth 1:11-22; Hebrews 12:15; Romans 8:28]

• Ruth: favor with God and with others strengthened her to _______and bless in life’s _______

[Ruth 2:1-10]

• Boaz: favor with God and with others led him to _______and bless in life’s ______________

[Ruth 3:1-13; Ephesians 1:7-10]

Next Step Questions: 

• Are you acting more like Naomi, Ruth, or Boaz in this season?

[James 3]

The “seasoned” _________ into the _________

[James 3:1-2; 1 John 1:7-9]

The “seasoned” _________ their tongue

[James 3:3-12; Matthew 15:11;17-19]

When the source is _________, we get “salty” results:

[James 3:13-16]

• Source:__________________and _________ _________ (3:14)

(3:14-15)

• Results:Disorder and every evil practice (3:16)

When the source is _________, we get “seasoned” results

[James 3:17-18; Colossians 3:16-17]

• Source:__________________and _________ (3:13)

Next Step Questions:

• Are you seasoned, or salty, with your lifestyle and speech?

[Hebrews 11:6 & James 2:14–17]

1. _____________ faith [1 John 3:17 & James 2:18–20]

2. _____________ faith [James 2:20–26]

The statement is intellectually true, but it doesn’t proceed far enough. A person must believe in God to be a Christian, but not everyone who acknowledges the existence of God has made a commitment to Jesus Christ. — Holman New Testament Commentary

3. _____________ faith [Philippians 2:12 & Galatians 2:20]

Next Steps

- Do you need to find faith is Jesus Christ today?

[James 2:1-13]

Are you “free to see” or “out of focus” and “playing favorites”? 

[James 2:1-4; John 3:16; 1 Samuel 16:7]

• A definition of partiality: prejudging someone, either positively or negatively, based on…

Why should “Christians” be “free to see”?

[James 2:5-11] 

• James gives three reasons to be “free to see”:

o   Theologically God is _______ (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)

o   Logically it harms _______ _______ (James 2:6-7)

o   Biblically we are commanded to _______ _______ and _______ _______ _______ (Mark 12:29-31)

How do we get “free to see”?

[James 2:12-13; Galatians 3:26-28]

• Choose _______ as your standard, not your habits

Next Step Questions:

• Are you “free to see” or are you playing favorites?

Notes:

[James 1]

Faith in Jesus leads to lifestyle changes __________:

[James 1:2-18]

• Jesus changes our __________and  “__________”  (1:2-4)

Faith in Jesus leads to lifestyle changes __________:

[James 1:19-27]

• Jesus changes our __________to others                 (1:19-21)

Next Step Questions:

• Have you placed your faith in Jesus and been baptized?

Notes:

Like No Other: “Power like no other”

[Romans 1:16-17; John 3:16-18]

Jesus walked in a power like no other and He is _______ _______

[Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18]

What is the “Gospel”?

[John 3:16-18; Romans 6:23]

What is a “Christian”?

[Romans 1:17; Habakkuk 2:4]

Jesus walked in a power like no other and He is _______ _______with:

• The power to _______ (John 2:7-8)

Next Step Questions:

• What do you need Jesus’ power to do in your life today?

Notes:

Like No Other: “Praise like no other”

[Luke 19:28-46; 1 Peter 2:9; Isaiah 14:11-15]

Praise ____________ us by: 

[1 Peter 2:9; Luke 19:28-38]

• P:      ____________ my heart properly

What we ____________ is what we ____________

[Luke 19:39-40]

 _____________flows from a heart filled with “I will” statements:

[Isaiah 14:11-15]

• I will ascend to heaven 

Praise ____________ us to: see, serve, and be with King Jesus

[Luke 19:41-46] 

Next Step Questions:

• Have you received Jesus as your saving King?

Notes:

Not God. God is different. On the first Easter Sunday, instead of promises full of emptiness, God gave us emptiness that is full of hope.

John Chapter 19 & 20

First, let’s examine the empty cross.

• THE EMPTY ________

The empty cross promises_____________.  Hope Like no other!

• THE EMPTY _________

What about you? When you’re in John’s position, what do you do?

When you’re somewhere between yesterday’s tragedy and tomorrow’s triumph, what do you do? Do you leave God—or do you linger near him?

John chose to linger. And because he lingered on Saturday, he was around to see the miracle on Sunday.

John 20:5-8 

The empty clothes promise____________.

HOPE like no other!

• THE EMPTY______ Matthew 28:5-7a ESV

The tomb of Jesus remained empty as a symbol of life that outlasts the grave—life everlasting. In other words, the empty cave promises_________. HOPE like no other!

Forever. 

Our minds can hardly grasp the concept, yet Jesus promised it over and over. He told Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV).

He assured the woman at the well, John 4:14 English Standard Version (ESV)

John 6:47 ESV

He offers forever. He offers__________. The promise of eternal life is the heartbeat of hope.

The apostle Paul put it this way…

 Romans 6 English Standard Version (ESV) Dead to Sin, Alive to God

Ephesians 3:14-21 New International Version (NIV)

A Prayer for the Ephesians-Paul

The empty cave serves as a powerful reminder that Christ rose from the grave, never to die again. He promises that if we believe in him, then we will live with him… forever!

Next Step Questions

What’s empty in your life that needs Hope? 

When you’re somewhere between yesterday’s tragedy and tomorrow’s triumph, what do you do? Do you leave God—or do you linger near him?

Do you need to experience that Hope like no other today? Do you need to give your life to Jesus?